I'm Home
by Clarixe
Summary: After Fairy Tail's disbandment, Gray finds himself buying a house.


**Author's Note**: Of course, I do not own Fairy Tail and all of its characters. They're Mashima's! 3 Thank you very much for reading my work(s). The comments, the follows and the favourites really make my heart burst into tiny little stars. Receiving notifications actually makes my day (in the middle of work and stress) and since I feel like it has been a very long time since I wrote a fanfic for my fellow Gruvians, here's another one.

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**I'm Home**

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They are walking on a dirt road destined to the next town called Sea Hare Village. He is holding a sack bag while his companion holds a map made of parchment paper.

"Are you sure about going with me?" Gray once again asks the blue-haired woman accompanying him. It has been his habit of asking her every now and then, oftentimes right after finishing their quest as if the woman will simply leave him without any warning. He somehow holds his tongue, trying to evade the fact that the woman is already a month-old permanent fixture in his life.

The cerulean-haired woman stops walking and looks down. Upon hearing her stop, Gray stops as well and looks back.

"Juvia has nowhere to go to," Juvia mutters, sadness overflowing the tone of her voice despite the calmness of her face. "Fairy Tail is Juvia's home."

Gray watches her silently, reading her mind through her glassy eyes. He knows that Fairy Tail's disbandment took its toll over the water mage who once had been in search of a family, people who will accept her for who she is; and the guild became a fortress of happiness and belongingness for the blunette. For someone who has been taken advantage of, Juvia is fragile when it comes to relationships – this is something Gray knows.

Juvia steps forward to Gray and smiles. She tries to mask her sadness with a jovial tone yet the implicit emotion fails to escape the ice mage. "But Juvia is happy to follow Gray-sama wherever he goes."

"We've been moving from one town to another for already a month," Gray nonchalantly says in an attempt to elicit some form of boredom or annoyance from the rain woman. He remains in denial that he is used to having her around as a companion and that the woman is willing to put up for him. "Surely, you're tired of moving around a lot."

"Juvia is not tired." She starts walking and Gray follows her. When they see the overview of the town and its arc, Gray announces, "this is it."

"Sea Hare Village," Juvia reads the name of the village from its wooden arc then looks at Gray. "What are we supposed to do here, Gray-sama?"

"I heard from the inn we stayed that this village is looking for adventurers and mages," Gray answers as they approach the town. "We can stay in an inn and take quests from townspeople."

He has become used to the idea of them sharing a room in an inn as it saves more money and it gives them enough time to talk about their quest strategies and plans.

"An inn!" Juvia's eyes twinkle and Gray knows what it means: the girl is fantasizing the possibility of them sleeping together.

"We're getting separate beds, Juvia," he adds, reminding himself that the woman is a natural hugger in bed. "The last time we shared a bed, you almost choked me to death."

"But, Juvia wants to spend more time with Gray-sama," she pouts, an attempt to persuade him; he avoids looking at her.

They remain silent as they enter the town. They immediately go straight to the nearest pub and asks for directions of the nearest in. Unfortunately the old bartender answers, "we don't have inns here but I know a place where you can stay."

He points out the guests to his wife and says, "show them the house."

The two follow the wife of the bartender until the latter stops in front of a wooden bungalow. The old woman happily informs them, "this house is actually for sale but we can let you rent the place. The monthly rent is 70,000 Jewels."

Gray looks at Juvia for some assurance that the water mage likes the place. The water mage's eyes are fixated on the house. She seems to be astounded with the place like there is something magical about the house. Gray observes the exterior of the house. There is nothing special in the house as he suspects. The bungalow is rather small yet charming with its wooden walls and cogon roof. He then shifts his eyes again towards the rain woman. He sees a smile on her face, a different one. It is different from her maniacal smiles when she does something crazy to him. Her smile is warm and tender, similar to the first time she saw sunshine.

Out of the blue, he approaches the old woman and whispers, "how much is the house itself?"

The old woman chuckles. "500,000 Jewels since it's a little bit old."

"I'll buy it," he answers in a low voice as he watches the rain woman who seems to be already making fantasies in her head.

The old woman inquires, "aren't you going to look inside?"

He shakes his head and hands over a sack of money to the old lady. It is his personal savings back when they were in Fairy Tail. He mentally justifies his action: he doesn't need the money, anyway, and it makes him feel uneasy that he has a lot of money with him traveling.

"Your wife seems to be pleased with the house." The old woman smiles and starts counting money from the sack. She then gives the key to the ice mage and happily says, "just let me know if you or your wife needs help."

He wants to correct the old woman but finds it bothersome. Instead, he quickly nods and approaches the water mage. The twinkles in her eyes once again give him inkling about what the woman is fantasizing about and surely, it has something to do with him.

"Oi, Juvia." He lightly shakes her shoulders and it does the job of making her go back to reality.

"Gray-sama, Juvia likes this house," she says with a smile.

"I can see that," he smirks. Then casually he says to her, "you know, we can stay here for a few months. This place is strategically good since it's near to other villages."

"Really?" Her eyes glisten and her hands are clasped together. He nods.

Gray thinks that seeing her happy is a hint that he is doing the right thing. He knows for a fact that the woman has been through a lot of moving and changing. With Fairy Tail's disband, the only thing he can offer to her is some sort of permanence.

"Already paid for the rent," he lies as he gives her the key to the house. Juvia accepts the key with a squeal. She immediately enters the premises and looks around.

Gray is about to follow when the door suddenly is closed in front of him. He attempts to open the door but it is locked. He yells, "oi, Juvia."

The ice mage hears snickering behind the door. He attempts to open the door again. Suddenly the door is opened and Juvia peeks her head outside. With a hint of redness on her cheeks, a smile on her pink lips, and lightness on her eyes, she timidly says, "_okaeri_, Gray-sama."

Flabbergasted, he almost lost his words. He feels blood going to his head. Avoiding her face, he looks away and finally stutters, "_tadaima_, Juvia."

Juvia opens the door and he enters. At that moment, he mentally thinks that they are already home.


End file.
